My apologies for the following correction. The promotional trip on Panorama Explorer will be a shared trip with other dive clubs, although Oonas have alocated 10 places to GLUG. And the date should read 27th July not 22nd.

Doh! Sorry once again and I hope that some people will still consider this deal. Failing that, you may want to consider the trip on Coral Queen departing 22nd June.

December 1st is World AIDS Day, and you can show your support by lighting a “Virtual Candle”. The company running the website has promised to donate US$1 for every candle lit (up to a maximum of 100,000 candles).

Please go and light a candle today - you don’t have to give your email address, and it won’t cost you a penny!

Neil.

GLUG AGM 3 December 2005

1. Apologies for absence

2. Minutes of last AGM

3. Matters arising

4. Officers’ reports:
- Chair
- UK dive coordinator
- Equipment coordinator
- Treasurer
- Membership secretary
- Publicity officer
- Newsletter/Website
- Dorothy Divers

5. Election of officers

6. AOB

7. Date of next meeting – 10th Jan 2005 (NB Not the first Tue of the month!)

Another offer from Oonasdivers (Please check out their web site for full details)

The aptly named Coral Queen holds 12 divers and covers some of the most spectacular reefs of the Southern Red Sea.
Leaving on June 22nd for one week, Oonas have offered us this trip at £877 instead of £950. ( part discount, part apportioning of the free place.)

Coral Queen is being presently held for GLUG, but I would need some firm interest shown as soon as possible, to secure the booking.

Yet another good deal; let’s not miss it!

Our Friends at Oonasdivers are launching M.Y. Panorama Explorer next year (Please check out their web site for full details). Covering the southern reaches of the Red Sea, this vessel can hold up to 20 people.

Oonas have offered us a promotional deal, leaving on July 22nd 27th, at a very attractive £649 and, we dont even have to fill it! (Note: This will be a shared trip, although currently 10 spaces are allocated to GLUG).

At this price, these promotional trips are being snapped up fast and we would need to declare some interest asap.
I hope you can join me on this trip.

Please register your interest on the Events Page, and email me for more details (click on the Envelope at the top of this post).

London Diving Chamber will once again be hosting the Dive Lectures at the RGS (Royal Geographical Society) following last year’s success. This year’s speakers will include: Monty Halls, Leigh Bishop and Loyd Grossman. The event is held in support of Scuba Trust - a charity devoted to giving people with physical disabilities an equal opportunity to experience the pleasure and excitement of scuba diving and the underwater world.

Date: Thursday 2nd February
Time: 6.30pm
Location: RGS, Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR

Registration is free, but numbers are limited.
Could I ask any GLUG members who want to attend, to email me (click on the envelope at the top of the post, or leave a comment below), no later than Tues 29th November, and I will then register everyone.

Note: Last year several GLUG members registered, but then only 2 of us turned up - this reflects badly on the club, so please, if you register, do make an effort to turn up!

More more information, see the LDC (London Diving Chamber) website

Live-Aboard to Similan Islands with Rainbow-Scuba
8-13 Feb 2006 Five days & nights on the luxury vessel Nautica

Similan Islands are without doubt some of the best dive sites in south east Asia plus plenty of opportunities for exploring deserted islands and pristine beaches along the way. The Nautica holds only 10 guests in en-suite double or twin cabins. Early booking is advisable.

48,500 baht per diver share standard twin or double cabin
51,000 baht per diver master cabin
10% off for non-divers

All cabins are en-suite and air conditioned. Full boat and cabin specs on our web site. Prices do not include national park entrance fees, fuel surcharge, rental of dive equipment.

The annual Phuket Pride Festival will be held just before our trip. On Sunday 5th Feb there will be the main street parade in Patong followed by a big party. The Nautica will leave port about 10pm on Wednesday 8th

For more details please see our web site and email Adam (adam@rainbow-scuba.com)

Hello Divers,

I just learned that EV, the restaurant is happy to receive the final confirmation of guests for the dinner by the evening of Tuesday the 29th November.
So anyone who may have thought they’ve missed out by missing the deadline has now got another opportunity to sign up for dinner and the AGM.
See you on Saturday the 3rd December.

Gerhard

So far Gerhard has only had 12 members contact him about the Xmas meal on December 3rd. We have to tell the restaurant the exact number by this Friday (18th), so if you want to come, but haven’t yet told Gerhard - do it now. You can find Gerhard’s contact details on the Events Page when you’ve logged in.

You can find the full details of the Meal and AGM in this post.

Harry Potter goes Scuba Diving…

Hi everyone,

With the AGM fast approaching, it’s time to think about the GLUG Committee posts, and whether you’d be interested in playing a more active role in the club, by volunteering for one of them.

The committee posts for 2006 will be:

Diver Magazine recently carried out a poll of their readers all-time favourite Diving Gear. Their website lists the winners, but I thought I’d reproduce it here, complete with links to the appropriate websites:

I’m planning on doing a TDI Nitrox course with Diving Leisure London sometime early next year, and wondered if any other GLUG members would like to join me?

The course will cost £80 - less if I get several people interested. The course takes 1 day, is all theory (no winter diving required!), and qualifies you to dive with Nitrox mixes up to 40%.

(Explanation of Nitrox follows for any scuba newbies out there…)

Here’s another UW Photography website that you might find interesting…

The GLUG AGM and Christmas Meal will take place on Saturday 3rd December.

The AGM is being hosted by Gerhard at his house near Waterloo, followed by the Christmas Meal at EV, 2 minutes walk away, behind Southwark station.

Konditor and Cook will be providing Mince Pies and Mulled Wine for the AGM, and Gerhard will be asking for donations to The Food Chain (suggested amount £5).

EV is a Turkish Restaurant, and part of the Tas chain (where GLUG has enjoyed several Xmas meals in the past). According to the Time Out Eating Guide, “It’s beautifully run, thoroughly professional and the inventive modern Turkish food is delicious, imaginative and keenly priced.”

We’ve decided to go for their Menu 2 option, at £22.50 per person (drinks other than water are extra). Including Wine and Service Charge, it should come to around £33-35 per person.
Gerhard will be asking for a £20 per person deposit, and if everyone could try to bring cash to the restaurant for the balance, it will make life easier!

The AGM will start at 4.30pm, which should give us enough time to cover everything before the Meal, which is booked for 7.00pm. An agenda will be published shortly.

All are welcome to come along for either the AGM, or the Xmas Meal, or both.

We need numbers for the meal no later than November 18th, so if you want to join us, please contact Gerhard ASAP (Members can find his details on the Events Page after logging in).

If you’re planning on coming just to the AGM, it would be useful for Gerhard to know numbers for that as well.